Puerto de la Cruz
Encyclopedia
Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality located in Spain, on the north coast of Tenerife
island, in the Orotava Valley
. It is located 4 km (2 mi) west of La Orotava, and 37 km (23 mi) W of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
, and 25 km (16 mi) from Tenerife North Airport both on the TF5 Motorway
.
In Spanish the inhabitants are known as portuenses. The municipality is the smallest in area in Tenerife.
The population is 31,830 (ISTAC, 2003), its density is 3,646.05/km² and the area is 8.73 km² (3 sq mi). The elevation is 9 m (30 ft) MSL
. The lowest point is the coastal Atlantic zone, the highest is Las Arenas, a volcanic cone
with an elevation of 249 m (817 ft). Farmland is tucked into the valley areas and within the Atlantic coastal zone; urbanisation covers much of the area and the terrain rises rapidly to the south.
Prior to the development of hotels and buildings, much of the area consisted of agricultural land. Considerable fiscal pressure led to the land being developed and the population shifted from rural to urban and tourism. The population is mainly urban today.
are presented in the history of tourism
to a specific reality. The export economy by the European colonizers established after the conquest in the fifteenth century
generated for decades large commercial and passenger movements. The first foreign visitors quickly felt drawn to the beneficial qualities of the weather Taoro Valley
.
So, before mass tourism model currently existed in Puerto de la Cruz minority tourism privileged elites who are interested in climatology, botany and quiet of this site.
Canary
does not fall too far from Europe
and travel for health reasons, for health reasons, are one of the first engines that launched the factory tour appointment
The environmental factor in the choice of Puerto de la Cruz as a tourist destination is at the beginning of nineteenth century the center of attraction for many researchers and exclusive high-class groups in Europe. At this stage Puerto de la Cruz became a leading cultural center, which housed many travelers and writers, including William Wilde
or Alexander von Humboldt
.
Puerto de la Cruz
won an illustrious name among the international framework of Europe, which subsequently, with the advent of modern tourism model of tourist leisure accessible, you will have an advantage over other sites.
A mid-seventeenth century the neighbors began to express his desire to become a distinct place, receiving the Royal Provision of Felipe IV on May 3, 1651, which empowered them to appoint village headman.
Plaza del Charco. In 1880 he built his central stack
Until 1772 belonged to the municipality of La Orotava under the name Puerto de La Orotava. Although this year proceeded with the election of a municipal corporation elected by the residents, it was not until 1808 when it obtained a full municipal autonomy, changing at that time the name to the current Puerto de la Cruz.
It was originally a fishing village that grew as local trade was increasing. The port became the most important of the island when a volcano eruption destroyed Garachico
in 1706. The sugar
trade gave way to wine
, this time settling in a large social and economic development.
Tourism is beginning to have an important role in the local economy in the late nineteenth century. It was in those years when he built the Grand Hotel Taoro and began to remodel old family houses, as Marquesa or Monopol, to transform them into the first hotel in the city centers. Finally, the real tourism boom came in the 50's of XX century, when the city began its transformation into tourist reference point of the island and the archipelago. Made in turn will trigger an explosion with serious conditions at the urban natural environment, both coastal and agriculture.
During the second edition of Ecological Film Festival of Nature in Puerto de la Cruz, taking the trip of several people invited to give lectures and provide round tables, announces the Tenerife Manifesto (May 29, 1983). This text is a precursor of political ecology in Spain, which would initiate a process leading to the founding of the political party of the Greens.
Puerto de la Cruz is frequented by the Northern European during the winter months, due to its mild climate, and is particularly popular over Christmas
and the new year periods.
The Western European tourist contingent to Puerto de la Cruz tends towards more mature couples, in comparison to resorts such as Playa de las Americas
.
The summer months sees more Spanish
tourists, particularly during the very hot month of August on the Spanish mainland.
celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006.
El Carnaval, held every year. Ash Wednesday
is in the middle of Carnival.
"La Embarcacion de la Virgen del Carmen" (The Sea-setting of the Virgin Carmen), is held July 16. It has become in latter years "la Fiesta del Agua" (The water party), where copious amounts of water are thrown at the festivities.
It is preceded by "La Sardinada" (The Sardine Festival), where sardines are fried and sold the night before at San Telmo.
Hundreds of people congregate in Charco Square and its fishing port, where festival goers participate in games (like the popular run-along-the grease-pole, where people have to run along a greased pole and catch a flag to win the game, very humorous).
Because of the normally mild weather, people go in T-shirt and shorts, or just bathing suits, and enjoy a quick dip in the waters of the port to help cool down in the usually good July weather. The event starts around 12-1 o'clock in the afternoon and lasts till around 10-12 o'clock at night.
At the height of "La Sardinada", a large papier mache sardine is wheeled through the streets, brought to the waterfront, "blessed" with "holy water" (normally petrol or lighter fluid) by a man dressed as a Bishop
. The sardine is then set alight, to huge applause. After this, a huge firework display ensues. The event is known as the "Burial of the Sardine".
Amongst the crowd at this event, "professional mourners" will be found. These are invariably men in drag
, wailing, for comic effect.
Although the Burial of the Sardine rarely starts on time, the event always attracts crowds, and it is advised to arrive early at the harbour.
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
island, in the Orotava Valley
Orotava Valley
The greenish and fruitful Orotava Valley is a beautiful valley filled with gullies and cliffs located in the northern part of the Canary island of Tenerife, in Spain. The valley is 10 by 11 km....
. It is located 4 km (2 mi) west of La Orotava, and 37 km (23 mi) W of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009...
, and 25 km (16 mi) from Tenerife North Airport both on the TF5 Motorway
TF5 Motorway
The TF5 Motorway is a motorway in the Canary Islands, north of Tenerife running from Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Puerto de la Cruz....
.
In Spanish the inhabitants are known as portuenses. The municipality is the smallest in area in Tenerife.
The population is 31,830 (ISTAC, 2003), its density is 3,646.05/km² and the area is 8.73 km² (3 sq mi). The elevation is 9 m (30 ft) MSL
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. The lowest point is the coastal Atlantic zone, the highest is Las Arenas, a volcanic cone
Volcanic cone
Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption...
with an elevation of 249 m (817 ft). Farmland is tucked into the valley areas and within the Atlantic coastal zone; urbanisation covers much of the area and the terrain rises rapidly to the south.
Prior to the development of hotels and buildings, much of the area consisted of agricultural land. Considerable fiscal pressure led to the land being developed and the population shifted from rural to urban and tourism. The population is mainly urban today.
Historical population
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 25,447 | - |
| 1996 | 24,542 | - |
| 2001 | 26,441 | 2,937.88/km² |
| 2002 | 30,466 | - |
| 2003 | 31,830 | 3,646.05/km² |
| 2004 | 30,088 | 3,402.62/km² |
Economy
Puerto de la CruzPuerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality located in Spain, on the north coast of Tenerife island, in the Orotava Valley...
are presented in the history of tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
to a specific reality. The export economy by the European colonizers established after the conquest in the fifteenth century
Conquest of the Canary Islands
The conquest of the Canary Islands by the Kingdom of Castille took place between 1402 and 1496. It can be divided into two periods, the Conquista señorial, carried out by Castilian nobility in exchange for a covenant of allegiance with the crown, and the Conquista realenga, carried out by the...
generated for decades large commercial and passenger movements. The first foreign visitors quickly felt drawn to the beneficial qualities of the weather Taoro Valley
Valle de la Orotava
Valle de la Orotava is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located on the north-western coastline of Tenerife, , and acquired its DO in 1995.-History:...
.
So, before mass tourism model currently existed in Puerto de la Cruz minority tourism privileged elites who are interested in climatology, botany and quiet of this site.
Canary
Canary
The Atlantic Canary , also called the Island Canary, Canary or Common Canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Serinus in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is native to the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira. Wild birds are mostly yellow-green, with brownish streaking on the...
does not fall too far from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and travel for health reasons, for health reasons, are one of the first engines that launched the factory tour appointment
The environmental factor in the choice of Puerto de la Cruz as a tourist destination is at the beginning of nineteenth century the center of attraction for many researchers and exclusive high-class groups in Europe. At this stage Puerto de la Cruz became a leading cultural center, which housed many travelers and writers, including William Wilde
William Wilde
Sir William Robert Wills Wilde MD, FRCSI, was an Irish eye and ear surgeon, as well as an author of significant works on medicine, archaeology and folklore, particularly concerning his native Ireland...
or Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
.
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality located in Spain, on the north coast of Tenerife island, in the Orotava Valley...
won an illustrious name among the international framework of Europe, which subsequently, with the advent of modern tourism model of tourist leisure accessible, you will have an advantage over other sites.
History
The city's origins date back to the early sixteenth century, it existed in 1502 in the coastal port activity, while the dependent population center of La Orotava. It is in 1603 when he decided to bring a specific location in Puerto de la Cruz to build a church and its corresponding square.A mid-seventeenth century the neighbors began to express his desire to become a distinct place, receiving the Royal Provision of Felipe IV on May 3, 1651, which empowered them to appoint village headman.
Plaza del Charco. In 1880 he built his central stack
Until 1772 belonged to the municipality of La Orotava under the name Puerto de La Orotava. Although this year proceeded with the election of a municipal corporation elected by the residents, it was not until 1808 when it obtained a full municipal autonomy, changing at that time the name to the current Puerto de la Cruz.
It was originally a fishing village that grew as local trade was increasing. The port became the most important of the island when a volcano eruption destroyed Garachico
Garachico
Garachico is a municipality and town on the northern coast of Tenerife, It is located on the TF42 Road about 60km West of the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife , 50km from Tenerife North Airport and 67 km from Tenerife South Airport. The town itself nestles below a 500m+ cliff...
in 1706. The sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
trade gave way to wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, this time settling in a large social and economic development.
Tourism is beginning to have an important role in the local economy in the late nineteenth century. It was in those years when he built the Grand Hotel Taoro and began to remodel old family houses, as Marquesa or Monopol, to transform them into the first hotel in the city centers. Finally, the real tourism boom came in the 50's of XX century, when the city began its transformation into tourist reference point of the island and the archipelago. Made in turn will trigger an explosion with serious conditions at the urban natural environment, both coastal and agriculture.
During the second edition of Ecological Film Festival of Nature in Puerto de la Cruz, taking the trip of several people invited to give lectures and provide round tables, announces the Tenerife Manifesto (May 29, 1983). This text is a precursor of political ecology in Spain, which would initiate a process leading to the founding of the political party of the Greens.
Sites of interest
- Martiánez Pools (Lago Martiánez) completed and designed by the famous canary architect César ManriqueCésar ManriqueCésar Manrique was an artist and an architect.-Biography:Manrique grew up in the area of San Ginés lagoon. At age 23, he participated in his first exhibition in Arrecife. He attended the University of La Laguna. In 1945, Manrique attended the art school San Fernando in Madrid for five years...
.
- Jardín Beach in Puerto de la Cruz is a famous beach filled with palm trees, and hotels.
- Charco Square in the town centre is worth a visit.
- Loro ParqueLoro ParqueLoro Parque is a zoo located on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species...
, a famous park and zoo located on the outskirts of the city.
- Ermita de San Amaro, dedicated to the semi-legendary Saint AmaroSaint AmaroAccording to Christian tradition, Saint Amaro or Amarus the Pilgrim was an abbot and sailor who it was claimed sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to an earthly paradise. There are two historical figures who may have provided the basis for this legend. The first was a French penitent of the same...
.
- The local sewage-plant, situated close to the Punta Brava beach, the Martinez Hotel complex and Loro Parque. It is known to leak and can be identified via its intense odour from a great distance.
- Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la CruzArchaeological Museum of Puerto de la CruzThe Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz is a small museum, located in the town of Puerto de la Cruz . It is one of the most important archaeological museums in the Canary Islands...
: with important pieces of prehistoryPrehistoryPrehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
of the island, which also houses the idol GuancheGuancheGuanche may refer to:*Guanches, an aboriginal people of the Canary Islands*Guanche language, extinct language, used to be spoken by the Guanches until the 16th or 17th century...
, called "El Guatimac".
- Anglican Church of Puerto de la CruzAnglican Church of Puerto de la CruzAnglican Church in the town of Puerto de la Cruz on the island of Tenerife . The church of Anglican worship.The church was built with money donated by foreign visitors and British residents in the city. The organ, the pulpit, painted glass windows, baptismal font and other items were private...
is located within the Taoro Park, was built by BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
residents in the city. In Puerto de la Cruz is the oldest Anglican cemetery in the Canary Islands.
Tourism
Tourism is an important industry in Puerto de la Cruz, as evidenced by the number of large hotels on the skyline.Puerto de la Cruz is frequented by the Northern European during the winter months, due to its mild climate, and is particularly popular over Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and the new year periods.
The Western European tourist contingent to Puerto de la Cruz tends towards more mature couples, in comparison to resorts such as Playa de las Americas
Playa de las Américas
Playa de las Américas is a purpose-built holiday resort in the northern part of the Municipality of Arona, close to the adjoining Municipality of Adeje in the south of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. It was built in the 1960s beside the town of Los Cristianos and stretching northward to the...
.
The summer months sees more Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
tourists, particularly during the very hot month of August on the Spanish mainland.
Events
The Tenerife Airshow (Festival de Aeromodelismo) (Spanish for 'Aeromodelling festival') is held every year in near the harbour, usually in Europa Square. The airshowAirshow
An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....
celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006.
El Carnaval, held every year. Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
is in the middle of Carnival.
"La Embarcacion de la Virgen del Carmen" (The Sea-setting of the Virgin Carmen), is held July 16. It has become in latter years "la Fiesta del Agua" (The water party), where copious amounts of water are thrown at the festivities.
It is preceded by "La Sardinada" (The Sardine Festival), where sardines are fried and sold the night before at San Telmo.
Hundreds of people congregate in Charco Square and its fishing port, where festival goers participate in games (like the popular run-along-the grease-pole, where people have to run along a greased pole and catch a flag to win the game, very humorous).
Because of the normally mild weather, people go in T-shirt and shorts, or just bathing suits, and enjoy a quick dip in the waters of the port to help cool down in the usually good July weather. The event starts around 12-1 o'clock in the afternoon and lasts till around 10-12 o'clock at night.
At the height of "La Sardinada", a large papier mache sardine is wheeled through the streets, brought to the waterfront, "blessed" with "holy water" (normally petrol or lighter fluid) by a man dressed as a Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. The sardine is then set alight, to huge applause. After this, a huge firework display ensues. The event is known as the "Burial of the Sardine".
Amongst the crowd at this event, "professional mourners" will be found. These are invariably men in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
, wailing, for comic effect.
Although the Burial of the Sardine rarely starts on time, the event always attracts crowds, and it is advised to arrive early at the harbour.
People
- Agustín de BetancourtAgustín de BetancourtAgustín de Betancourt y Molina was a prominent Spanish-Canarian engineer, who worked in Spain, France and Russia. His work ranged from steam engines and balloons to structural engineering and urban planning...
- Tomás de Iriarte
- Tom HernándezTom HernándezTom Hernández was a Spanish - American actor whose characters were always secondary. He also player the character Don Diego at the annual fair Del Mar Fair in San Diego...
- Agustín Espinosa
- Andi DerisAndi DerisAndreas "Andi" Deris is the vocalist and the main songwriter for power metal band Helloween, and co-founder and former lead singer of German melodic metal band Pink Cream 69...
, a German singer - Michael WeikathMichael WeikathMichael Ingo Joachim Weikath is the guitarist of the German Power metal band Helloween."Weiki" was born in Hamburg, Germany. He is one of the Helloween founding members, along with the musicians Kai Hansen , Markus Grosskopf and Ingo Schwichtenberg . Along with Grosskopf he is the only other...
, a German guitarist - Michael Hennet SotomayorMichael Hennet SotomayorMichael "Mikel" Hennet Sotomayor is a member of the boyband D'NASH. He is known simply as Mikel and is the romantic of the band, as well as the child of the group. Mikel studied audio-visual communications in the United Kingdom...
, known as Mikel, member of the Spanish band D'NASH
Sisters cities
AlmuñécarAlmuñécarAlmuñécar is a municipality in the Spanish Autonomous Region of Andalusia on the Costa Tropical between Nerja and Motril . It has a subtropical climate...
, Spain
DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
(2003), Germany
MartinsicuroMartinsicuroMartinsicuro is a town and comune in province of Teramo, Abruzzo, central Italy. It is located on the right of the mouth of Tronto River.-History:...
, Italia (2000), Italy
Puerto la CruzPuerto la CruzPuerto la Cruz is a port city located in Anzoátegui State, in Venezuela. It is the seat of the Juan Antonio Sotillo Municipality. The city has road connections to the state capital, Barcelona, to Lecheria and to Guanta, and has the potential to become the largest and most important metropolitan...
, Venezuela
External links
- Map and aerial photos
- Street map: Street map from Mapquest, MapPoint or Google
- Satellite images: Google
- Web: www.puertodelacruz.es